The new Moruleng Mall in the North West Province has created job opportunities for more than 1 500 community members while, at the same time, allowing the local Bakgatla Ba Kgafela tribe to share in future profits through a significant shareholding in the shopping centre.
This is the view of Japie van Niekerk, founder and chief executive of New Africa Developments (NAD), developer and co-owner of the mall. “We have also provided easy access to major retailers for the community of Moruleng in a top quality, state-of-the-art shopping centre environment,” he said.
Close to 100 000 people visited the centre over the opening weekend and all major tenants reported turnovers that exceeded their budgets.
During the mall’s development, the company embarked on a recruitment drive aimed at creating sustainable job opportunities for the Moruleng community. “We even set up an on-site application station with a qualified human resource practitioner to help us complete CVs correctly and ensure all the applicants’ details were captured,” said van Niekerk.
The 30 483m² mall, which forms part of the Greater Moruleng Revitalisation Project, opened its doors on Thursday 24 October in an event attended by dignitaries and community elders. Close to 100 000 people visited the centre over the opening weekend and all major tenants reported turnovers that exceeded their budgets. Well known retail brands that have opened shop at the mall include Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Edgars, Truworths, Foschini, Ackermans, Jet, Legit, PEP, PEP Home, KFC, Identify, Markham, Mr Price, TotalSports, Exact!, Sportscene and Fashion Express.
“It was heartening to see how excited the community was about Moruleng Mall. That was our aim from the very beginning: to enhance a sense of belonging and pride while boosting the local economy,” said van Niekerk.
Hester Robinson, NAD’s managing director, said that the shopping centre was destined to become the heartbeat of the Moruleng community. “Over the weekend, we had the community come out in their numbers and experience a world-class shopping environment right at their doorstop. Thanks to their enthusiastic support, the first weekend’s foot count exceeded even our most optimistic expectations,” she said.
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